Tory Bryant’s objective in painting is not to be limited to the drawing alone. She expresses emotion and observation through the exploration of color. Tory’s intention is to manipulate the viewer’s perception of the image. Her color and paint application create the illusion of clarity at distances while retaining elusive qualities up-close.

As a young child growing up in Canterbury, Connecticut, Tory Bryant showed an early flair for Art and received regular and expert encouragement from her mother. Tory’s early inspirations sprung from seemingly unlikely sources, such as matchbox cars, marbles, yo-yos and candy. She began her formal study at Norwich Free Academy and continued her education at Lyme Academy of Fine Arts. At the Academy she majored in Oil Painting and received a BFA in 1999. While at College she took the summers to travel with backpack and easel through the green hills of Europe. Upon graduating, Tory broadened her knowledge of art by attending the Arts Students League in New York City. She also trained in graphic design.

Tory Bryant is very vigorous in her art she is previously working on a multitude of projects ranging from oil painting commissions to book Illustrations. Tory has been working with an author for over ten years creating the characters he imagines. Tory is also working on a project in conjunction with the Town of Brooklyn, replacing Two wolf heads at the base of a war hero’s monument, formally sculpted by Karl Gerhardt in the 1877.

Tory is a participant in the Urban Artists Initiative program which draws artists from a wide variety of cultural and economic backgrounds throughout the State of Connecticut, funded by the Connecticut Commission of the Arts.

Recently Tory Bryant was awarded Best in show at the UAI’s Southeast Region Exhibition. This favorable recognition created the opportunity for her to show at the Bradley International Airport entitled Destination Connecticut Arts: ‘Visionary Landscapes’, one of nine artists selected. Tory has a multitude of projects she is working on and continues to create a name for herself as an artist.

New Figurative Drawings and Paintings
by Philip LaVarge
and Michael McNabney

Opening Reception:
Saturday, November 27, from 6- 9 PM

On exhibit until January 2, 2005

Biographies

Michael McNabney creates figurative and landscape
works in several media, focusing on oil painting. He
studied at the Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts and
at the Art Students League of New York. Mr. McNabney's
work has recently been exhibited at the Stonington
Vinyard's Gallery in Stonington, CT. Michael's
paintings are represented in in private and corporate
collections. He currently lives in in Ledyard, CT with
his wife, children and dog.

Philip La Varge is exercising his discipline through
silver point drawing. He will be giving a demonstration
and talk on this technique during the
New London Open at the Gallery on Sunday December 5th
at 2pm. Philip has exhibited extensively in
Connecticut as well as in San Francisco and San Diego,
California, Rochester, New York, and, Houston and San
Marcos, Texas

"Self Portrait with Sunflowers"
by Michael McNabney
(oil on canvas)

"Paintings and Prints"
new work by David Brubaker

Opening Reception Saturday June 5, 6-9pm

exhibition runs from June 5 - July 6

Bio

David Brubaker lives in Old Lyme and works primarily as a painter and
printmaker. He studied plein air landscape painting with Rackstraw
Downes and Neil Welliver, at the University of Pennsylvania, where he
completed undergraduate studies in fine arts and architectural drawing.
In 1980, he entered the graduate program in painting at the School of
the Art Institute of Chicago and also began work in the areas of
etching and filmmaking. While finishing requirements for an MFA in
painting, he turned to aesthetics and eventually completed a doctorate
in the philosophy of art, at the University of Illinois. Since his
return to Connecticut in 1992, he has been teaching at both the
University of New Haven, in the Visual Arts and Philosophy Programs,
and at the Stamford campus of the University of Connecticut. In recent
years, his paintings and prints have appeared in a number of local and
regional exhibitions. His work has been shown at the Lyme Art
Association, the Essex Art Association, the Rose Farm Gallery, the John
Slade Ely House, Artspace, the Seton Gallery at the University of New
Haven, the Carriage House Barn Gallery in New Canaan, and the Center
for Contemporary Printmaking in Norwalk.

Artist's Statement

What does the world need in order to be fashioned as an artwork?
Artists must discover the forms and physical materials which enable
their works to emerge. But which needs and interests will guide an
artist in arranging forms and elements? Painters may choose to
represent the perceptible forms and features of things. Or they may
use color to express emotions produced by objects. Some seek to convey
things as belonging to a reality that exists apart from different human
observers. It is also possible to use color to emphasize the dimension
of visibility which gives fleeting thoughts a place of their own within
nature. In my current work, I am exploring ways to convey the
dimension of visibility which is present between thoughts and real
things.

Goodspeed Opera House
Etching, Aquatint (in blue)
8.75 x 11.75

Trees, Eight Mile River
Oil on Canvas
18" x 14"

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ANCIENT LANDFORMS AND MODERN PLAYGROUNDS
Installation, Interactive and Performance work by
Michael Bergeron
April 29 - May 29, 2004

OPENING RECEPTION Thursday April 29, 6pm - 9pm,

generously sponsored by BRIAN BROTHERS and
"THE KITCHEN" restaurant located on Bank Street,
New London, CT

Closing reception, artist's dinner Thursday May 27,
6pm - 9pm

ARTIST'S STATEMENT:

People are curious to know what kind of art it is I make when they find out I am
an artist. It is not an easy answer for me. For instance, there are painters who
make paintings, and sculptors who make sculptures. As hard as I try,I do not fall
into such a category. I am left with only one answer that makes sense to me. I am
an artist.

It is my view that I am a person first and it is the idea of artist that explains
all of who I am (at least to my own mind).I have somehow arrived
with this life of mine today, that is not yesterday and not knowing what
will be tomorrow. And the ideal becomes an attempt to see the world
of humankind as a creation of one person towards another.

To paraphrase NoamChomsky, a conversation between two people
is one of the most profound and simplest acts of creating. And it is here that
I wish to begin. I desire to begin a dialogue, a conversation of sorts between
myself and all of you who wish to attend. And what will not be overlooked is the
strong sense of play that is needed and wanted and loved in all constructive
acts of creation. I wish to meld the bibilical with the umbilical to the
neurochemical;the cubical with the fecal to the technological; the local
with the tautological to the uncritical. I invite all into the playground
of artistic adventure.

Come and enjoy what could be awful or what could also
be quite wonderful. For the next month, the gallery space will be
a place for me to work, to live and to dream and play. It will be a place
for to watch, to speak, to stop by and color, to ignore or to engage.
I look forward to all of you coming. (or not coming.) Or I lie, as in fact
I may want to be alone, but of course now it is too late for that.
The art has already begun.

"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny
matters compared to what lies within us."
OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES

"It is not enough if you are busy. The question is,
What are you busy about?"
HENRY DAVID THOREAU

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SEEING IN A DIFFERENT LIGHT
paintings and drawings by Gloria Shapiro Potjan

Opening Reception: Saturday March 27, 2004, 6-9pm
Artist's talk at 6pm, Reception following

Exhibition: March 27 - April 25, 2004
Gallery Closed Sunday April 11, 2004

Artist Brunch: Sunday April 25, 11am
In celebration of National Poetry Month, a list of
poets, including the artist, will be presenting the
art of the spoken word

ABOUT THE ARTIST
Gloria Shapiro Potjan was born in Germany and came to
the United States in 1959 as a student. She has lived
and worked as an artist in New York City since 1961.
Her education includes the Pratt Institute in New York
as well as the Art Academy in Munich. She has been
exhibiting in one woman shows and group exhibitions
extensively in the United States and abroad. She is
the most recent recipient of a grant from the
G.E.D.O.K. Holstein in Germany. This grant enabled Ms.
Shapiro to work in Lubeck this past December and
January. Her drawings, oil pastels and paintings in
acrylic and oil are held in private collections here
and abroad.
At the Gibbs Studio, New York, Gloria is exhibiting
her most recent drawings, oil pastels and acrylic on
paper.

The Golden Street Gallery is thrilled to welcome
Gloria Shapiro Potjan to New London. The German
Expressionist influence and experimental nature
displayed in Gloria's work, force the viewer beyond
purely viewing the exhibition for its aesthetic
qualities. The drawings and paintings transport one
back to their own thoughts and memories and a desire
to know more about Gloria's thought processes occurs.
Gloria will be giving a talk about her work on
Saturday March 27, at 6pm, with an opening reception
immediately following.

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SOCIAL INTERACTION
new paintings by Shayna Blum

February 21 - March 21, 2004

Opening Reception: Thursday February 26, 2004, 6-9pm
musical accompaient by Guno LeeFlang

The Golden Street gallery presents “SOCIAL INTERACTION” , new paintings by
emeging artist Shayna Blum, a New Haven native, who has engrossed her new paintings
in a subject matter based on social interaction, of gatherings of people in bars, cafes,
galleries and onthe street. She is reflecting on her days as a waitress where she became
a silent observer, drawing images in her mind of the customers, situations and interactions
she was encountering.

Click on an image for a larger view

Shayna’s interest in painting lies with color and its connection with texture, organic and
linear shapes. Her images are simplified and primitave in their nature and form, reflecting
her constant battle of wills she experiences going back and forth from NYC and VT.



Influenced by Hans Hoffman, the most important aspects of Shayna’s new body of work
are an emphasis on repetitive forms and color studies.

During the artists reception, Shayna will be joined by Guno LeeFlang, an eclectic
guitarists and keyboard manipulater. Guno is originally a storyteller from Surinam
who now resides in New London, CT. Golden Street Gallery is thrilled to have
both of these talented fresh new faces represented here this month.

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"TRADITIONS"
new work by Kat Murphy, Jessica Mercedes Thornton
and Greg Bowerman

January 31 - February 15, 2004

Opening Reception Saturday January 31, 8pm - 12am

Kat Murphy is one of the original members at the
Hygienic Arts Co-op in New London, CT. Her artwork is
focused mainly on encaustic and mixed media painting.
After studying painting at Boston University for three
years she decided to keep painting on her own and
graduated with a BA in Spanish Language and
Literature. She has studied in Spain, traveled in
Mexico and Morocco and worked as a decorative
painter and interior designer in London, New York,
Dallas, Boston and Local areas. Wherever she goes she
has surrounded herself with a community of incredible
people which she credits to enhancing her talents and
creativity.

Kat Murphy “Surfacing” is currently on view at the
Ulla Surland Gallery Eleven in Fairfield, CT. until
February 7, 2004. The exhibition is a mix of old,
recent and new paintings. The title is a perfect fit
considering the nature of the work with its multiple
layers and texture. It also defines the artist’s
growth within the last three years and surfacing to
this point of direction in developing her style.

For the upcoming exhibition “Traditions” at the Golden
Street Gallery in New London opening January 31, 2004,
Kat is bringing elements of historical architecture
into the modern backdrop of her encaustic paintings on
a grand scale.

Greg Bowerman is also a resident artist at the
Hygienic Arts Co-op, a participant in the Urban Arts
Iniative and a recent scholarship reciepent from the
Connecticut Commission on the Arts, for a six month
studio residency at the Farmington Valley Arts Center
in Avon, CT. Greg is a full time oil painter who
enjoys creating visual responses to literature and
spirituality based text. For this exhibition,
“Traditions”, Greg has created multiple works that
relate with one another as visual responses to the
definition of Tradition itself.
tra-di-tion:
1: an inherited, established, or customary pattern,
thought, action, or behavior (as a religious practice
or a social custom.
2: the handing down of information, beliefs, and
customs by word of mouth or by example from one
generation to another without written instruction.
3: cultural continuity in social attitudes and
institutions.
4: characteristic manner, method or style.

Jessica Mercedes Thornton is a New London resident
artist, a participant in the Connecticut Urban Arts
Iniative and a recent fellowship recepient for the
Vermont Arts Studios Center in Vermont.
Jessica's Artists statement:
"It is with culture and through our traditions that we
can question and define who we are and what we are
not. Our young country defines its traditions on a
somewhat detached level, indigenousness we are not,
but it is through a tradition that we can root
personal history. In art I have been trained as the
masters, paying close attention to anatomy,
perspective and proportion and I have a deep love and
respect for that tradition, but I question and clamber
to make my own traditions and find my own visual way.
I have ventured to understand the tradition of the
Matador, the life and death of Toro bravo, and it is
with this tradition that I can begin to understand the
dance of love and hate."

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Towards A Narrative Space

oil and mixed media by
Nathan Lewis

October 25 - November 23, 2003

Opening Reception:
Saturday, October 25
7 - 9 pm

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ART TO PLAY WITH
a new collection of portraits & toys

Jenn Collins in collaboration with Paul McMasters

Artist Reception:
Saturday, September 27, 7 to 9 PM

Exhibition: September 27 - October 19, 2003

also the same evening ! --

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"Automatic"
Featuring recent works by Hygienic Co-op members
Kat Murphy and
Greg Bowerman (director of the Golden Street Gallery)
and guest artist Will Golaboski

Artist Reception:
Saturday, September 27, 7 to 10 PM
Hygienic Arts Co-op
79 Bank Street
New London, CT 06320

Exhibition: September 27 - October 19, 2003

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Gently Pass on Bye
oil & acrylic on paper by
Brian Stephens

Artist Reception:
Saturday, September 6, 7 to 9 PM

Exhibition: August 15 - September 18, 2003

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ANOTHER DAY
paintings by Xenia Fedorchenko
& James Reed

July 10 - August 14, 2003
Opening Reception:
Thursday, July 10, from 7- 9 PM
and Friday, July 25, from 7- 9 PM
in conjunction with
the New London Art Stroll 5 to 8 PM

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Island Images : Island Light
new works by Judith Winder
June 8 - July 6, 2003
Opening Reception:
Sunday, June 8, from 2- 5 PM

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May 3 - June 6, 2003
Opening Reception:
Saturday, May 3, from 7- 9 PM

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Anima / Animus
an exhibition of works on paper by
Gillian Whittle
& Robert Wale
Opening Reception: Saturday, February 22 from 7 - 9 PM

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Reception: Saturday, November 30, 2002, 7 - 9 PM